Mazda Protegé

ashutoshsm · February 2002

I got the wrong bolt pattern on the bracket for my trut tower brace, driver's side, and the seller would like a photo of the required pattern so he can update his records to indicate that a different bracket is needed for the 95-98 Proteges. And so that he can machine a new one and send it to me.

But I don't know anyone who has a scanner or digital camera!

I need a photo of the strut tower, top (or top-pish) view provided the driver's side tower has a 3-bolt pattern that is like so ...
Two bolts on the rearward side of the car, identical to the holes/bolts on the passenger tower brace, and one central hole in the front(ward) side of the car on the driver's strut tower (unlike the two on the passenger's side, front side of the car).

If someone out there has such a photograph, or would be kind enough to take one for me and mail it to me (tishoo@hotmail.com) - I'd really appreciate it! While you have the engine bay open, it would be great to have a picture of the passenger side tower for comparison, too!

TIA

chikoo · February 2002

all 4 alloys rims too???
What kind of a road crack was that?

narenji · February 2002

1500 for new rims and tires? You could get decent 17" rims and tires for that much from America's Tire Company or Discount Tire Direct. I got 4 15" rims and tires for $600. Factory alloys are always expensive to replace.

goolapper · February 2002

thanks for the Update on the bumper problem! Think the Ins Co's r still charging higher rates
for it tho....All the Co's I've talked (leg work prior to purchasing next commute vehicle) to are charging more to ins Pro than like Civic or Corolla...Of course the agents don't have a clue
as to Y just thats what their tables spit out....

yooper53 · February 2002

chicagopro, I can't believe they even tried to get you to take care of the ding in the hood. If it were me I'd write a letter to MazdaUSA with a cc to the dealer management. When I think I've heard everything... What unmitigated bull-do!

As I was typing the phone rang. It was Tom from Mazda USA re: install instructions for the infamous strut tower brace. He said it includes complete step by step instructions, torque values, sounds like the whole 9 yards. Its been awhile since I heard from him on this. Said it took some doing to get the material together. I hope they send me the satisfaction survey re: his assistance. He'll get top marks across the board. I'm impressed, I have to say.

Now to the advice part. At 54 yrs this is the first time I've ever had this problem and that includes the old days before I knew any better and would tighten lugs with most of my strength.
I mounted my steelies and Artic Alpins from tire rack 3K miles ago at the spec 80 ft-lbs and went out to rotate them about an hour ago. I guess you know where this is going..Anyway the bloody tire wouldn't budge once I got the lugs off. Called TireRack and he said he'd never heard of that and suggested I take it to a tire place for the rotate. So much for the $$ saved by DIY! Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated.

dsm6 · February 2002

I once had a set of steel wheels get stuck from rust - stuck solid. I needed to get it off on the side of the highway, too, 'cause the tire went flat. It wasn't on that long, just seemed to build up a lot of rust between the wheel and drum. A state police officer pulled over to help, and proceeded to get the wheel off by whacking on it as hard as he could with a tire iron. It worked, but would recommend a less damaging technique. Maybe some penetrating lubricant and gently rocking the wheel back and forth to try to work it loose? I don't know, though. Depends upon exactly how "stuck" it is. I'd hate to force the wheel too much and mess up a tie rod, allignment, etc.

yooper53 · February 2002

Having read your post I guess it could be worse. I have to take it to the dealer Friday so I'll have them rotate 'em. After begging them to use more brain and less brawn. They'll have to put something somewhere in the assy to prevent it again. Getting a flat in the middle of nowhere could ruin one's day. Probably the guy from road service would use more brawn than brain, which under the circumstances could hardly be avoided.
I didn't want to kick and bang on it for the same reasons you stated.

yooper53 · February 2002

I know some of the hard-core types out there would be interested in, but I gather its limited to industry types. Future of Automobile Technology at SAE 2002 World Congress being held in Detroit March 4-7. More info at www.sae.org/congress

fowler3 · February 2002

If the guys can't get photos of the 95-98 Pro for you, how about going to Wal-Mart and buying the cheapest Polaroid camera they sell. Or Circuit City. They have them in blister packs with one film pack. If you have a 35mm camera, go to a camera store and buy a 10-exposure roll of film. Cheap to process.

Be sure there is plenty of light on the strut towers when you take the pictures. The good thing about the Polaroid, you can take a test shot for lighting and if the holes show up.

fowler3

fowler3 · February 2002

at noon today, wish you guys had been there. Ashutoshsm, wadasum (?), Protegelec3 showed. Meade didn't and the noon chat is for him. LOL
Chiproes came in early but had to leave.

fowler3

fowler3 · February 2002

on photography, cameras, camcorders, lenses, etc. see this web site for great information.

http://www.photographyreview.com

fowler3

protegextwo · February 2002

"What are you doing shopping for Pro replacements? Your pair has served you well and if they realize that you frequent Honda and Toyota dealers, all hell will break loose."
-Maltb

I not really shopping yet, nonetheless; a little scouting to cover my back side if my wife's 2000 PRO-ES takes a "dump in my corn flakes". She is a tad worried about her Protege's reliability after the warranty runs out. What can I say, after over 17 years of marriage to Trudy, I know when "to fish and when to cut bait"! This said, if the rest of this year is smooth sailing for her Protege, I would rather hold on to this car, jeeze I don't want to be confused with vocus, lol! The good news is..., she put over $7,000 down on this purchase back in March of 2000 and has never had negative "Paul King" equity in her Protege. Ya see most woman are prolly smarter than must men, hehe! BTW, just kidding, <"watch buying next") Paul! :-)

Maltb, you are right about one thing, Scott Ruhl (my Red Team service advisor) at Lancaster Toyota Mazda has a heck of time keeping our Protege's straight in his computer. I give him entree and appetizer coupons for TGI Friday's all the time, to spiff him for the P.I.T.A I am!!!! By the way, E-mail me your address and I'll be glad to send you some too.

:-)

-Larry "Love Train"

protegextwo · February 2002

Essentially this valve regulates pressure inside the gas tank. If it was malfunctioning, it could make it seem like the gas cap was off. I have never heard of one failing. It is a pretty simple valve. Any manufacturing defect should have been caught before assembly, so it must have been damaged somehow when it was installed, but I can't imagine how?
-Boggse

"It's the canister drain cut valve(CDCV) and it's located back by the fuel tank. It shouldn't affect the way your Pro runs, but is a function of the emissions system. Your dealer technician was probably stumped, called Mazda's technical help line and they "opened" a case. Basically, the help line guys will suggest repairs based on their expertise. Most of the time they are right, but they are also on the other side of the phone and remain human.
-Maltb

Ted and Malt, many many thanks for the info and advice! The nice thing about the Mazda Protege Board,... there is always someone to take your back, need help with your strut bar, need advice on service, trying to change your OME stereo out, need a fair price on a new Protege, etc. SOME ONE GOT YOUR BACK!

Thanks again guys!

Respectfully,
Larry
aka "old Head"

winlet28 · February 2002

Hey guys,

I am having a little annoying problem with my proto...I think that I remember reading some of you may have experiences this, the driver door panel makes noises. It's kind of a rattle. What did you do about it? Contact dealer? Did they resolve it?

Thanks
Tom

winlet28 · February 2002

Little "Lucy" as my daughter calls her will be making her first major road trip to Disneyland in two weeks............zoom, zoom, zoom. I will let you know how she goes. ;-)

speedypt · February 2002

Dale...got your email...will respond soon.

Car washes....what I said was correct...they give you a free rewash (one time) for free if you come back within 5 days. From 6-10 days it's half price. (Incidentally Dale, this was the place that I grabbed all those coupons for at the auto show!) They use soft cloth and I've never had any damage done to my car by them. Delta Sonic...great place to go when it's too cold to wash it yourself! :-)

Regards,

Pete

speedypt · February 2002

Just checked the Protege Club and there WILL BE a meet in Chicago. Currently planned for May, there's at least 7-10 planned for attendance. Several have suggested Busse Woods forest preserve near Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. Good location and plenty of facilities.

I encourage all to attend, especially those within 2 hrs drive!

Details as available.

Regards,

Pete

mdaffron · February 2002

Tom, I had that problem (squeaking door panel) in my 2000 ES right after purchase. It's something they either (a) left out of our cars or (b) fixed later on the assembly line. I took mine in under warranty and they installed what's on all Proteges now -- some double-sided sticky foam tape that runs along the edge of the panel between the vinyl panel and the metal door frame. Not one squeak since.

Larry, I don't know if I'd classify ONE problem under warranty as a precursor to an unreliable car. You should've owned my 1994 B2300 pickup ... geesh! As Maltb or whoever said, those canister valve things don't fail very often. (That's why no one here had ever even HEARD of one! I did an exhaustive search using google, metacrawler and hotbot after you asked if anyone had heard of one of these things, and I came up empty-handed save for one mention about it being a diagnostic code on a Kia Sephia, LOL!)

But parts are parts, and a bad one can crop up every now and then. You were the unlucky one, but hey -- your warranty's covering it. Think of it this way -- between you and me, we've had SIX Proteges for a total of nearly 200,000 miles. This is the first non-scheduled repair in all that. Not bad, eh?

Keep smilin'!

(Now, which part of this message are you going to quote?)

;-)

Meadeball

P.S. Trade ya some Richmond turnpike toll tokens for some TGIF coupons!!!

mdaffron · February 2002

I'm SORRY.

(But go read my retort on the Yahoo! group, you ... you ... FOWLER man, you.)

Meade

mdaffron · February 2002

Some fun reading this morning ...

http://www.mazda.com/publicity/public/200201/0131be.html

Meade

mdaffron · February 2002

http://www.mazda.com/publicity/public/200202/0214e.html

Meade

mdaffron · February 2002

http://www.mazda.com/mnl/200202/mazda6.html

It appears we don't have to worry about Ford screwing up this one -- at least yet!

Meade

protegextwo · February 2002

"a bad one can crop up every now and then..."
-Meade

I here ya! However, it's NOT my concern. It's Trudy's issue. My car runs fine!

-Larry

mdaffron · February 2002

Yeah ... believe me, I know how that goes ...

Meade

the_big_h · February 2002

how everybody feels about their Protetge?

image came from here:

http://www.mazda.com/mnl/200202/goaisatu.html#Zoom

protege_fan · February 2002

We have not found a solution to the door rattling yet. Ask over on the Protege 5 forum as well. IIRC, they were the ones having the most problems with the rattling.

I had the rattling/buzzing coming from the passenger side, but now it's stopped. Really odd if you ask me.

protege_fan · February 2002

Yeah!!! Hehehehe! That's a great picture!

protegextwo · February 2002

Verrry Cool!

shrique · February 2002

much sums it up for me. (GRIN) Although sometimes that 3.2 mile commute get's a bit boring for that kind of activity.

zoomzoom79 · February 2002

Hey guys (and girls) whenever I start my Protege up in the morning and first behin accelerating up to 2500-3250 RPM there is seemingly a grinding noise coming from the engine. Anyone experienced this before?

protege_fan · February 2002

Never had a grinding noise coming from the engine. On really cold mornings, my engine may sound a little rough when it first starts, but never grinds! That doesn't sound good....Does it do it every time you start in the morning?

zoomzoom79 · February 2002

Every time ... It's sort of like something rattling in there.

protege_fan · February 2002

Have you checked under the hood when you start it? Maybe a belt that needs tightening is rattling?

zoomzoom79 · February 2002

Let me correct that....before it would just happen occasionally, maybe once a week or longer. Now it seems to happen every time I start moving in the morning.

protegextwo · February 2002

Did you call your service rep?

-Larry

zoomzoom79 · February 2002

Eveything seems to be in order under there. Guess it's time for a trip to the dealer

zoomzoom79 · February 2002

no not yet, at first I thought that maybe it was a characteristic of the engine but it's getting worse. These little things have me questioning how long I want to keep this car

maltb · February 2002

Is that all it takes to worry you? An insignificant part that doesn't leave you stranded? you must have amazing luck with cars.

BTW, I could never turn TGI Friday's coupons. You might just figure out who I am after all.

the_big_h · February 2002

my 00 ES's engine sounds rough on cold mornings in the same rev band you described as well. But I wouldn't call it 'grinding', and it goes away after the engine warms up to normal operating temperature. Does the noise in your engine go away after the engine warms up?

Check with the dealer just so you feel better about it, but I bet they'll describe it as 'normal engine characteristic'...

dinu01 · February 2002

Zoom x 2: Yep! That 6 looks good! Why wouldn;t they name it Atenza here too? I like Atenza.

Engine is rough for about 3 minutes after I drive it in the morning. When it's really warmed up, the power also improves. In my experience, it's with all cars that you get more power when the engine and components are warmed up.

Door rattle: Haven't got one.

Dinu

dinu01 · February 2002

Check the 626 Problems board! They mention "valve ticking" when cold that goes away in a few mins. They're suggesting synthetic oil solves it or change with reg oil more often. I do it at 2500 miles and it still does ot sometimes, so I will try synthetic Castrol or Mobil 1.

That 626 problems board is great if you wanna appreciate how good the PROs are. Still a Mazda, but what a POC.

Dinu

mdaffron · February 2002

Go have a look at the Tribute topic! Ah, good ol' Ford ...

Meade

dinu01 · February 2002

Been there. Hopefully the 6 will be Mazda not Ford. I really don't trust that company at all. Seems like every week in our paper ine of their vehicles is reported with mass complaints or recalls...

Sporin · February 2002

I'm not sure who designed the 6, but it's being built in Flat Rock, Mich.

duh_ster · February 2002

i tried starting the car this morning and it wouldn't turn over!! i had to hold the key turned for about 10 secs b4 it started up! this is the second time this has happened! anybody know what this could be caused by? it wasn't particularly cold today, and it's started fine on days 5x colder than today! (and no, i did not leave any electricals running last night)...
'duh'

mdaffron · February 2002

... but built, as you say Sporin, in Michigan. Scroll up to the links I posted this morning from Mazda's website.

Meade

mdaffron · February 2002

... the first thing I'd suspect is the battery. How old's the car? Cold weather tends to spell death for weak batteries.

Do you have one of those little "windows" in your battery? If so, it should be green -- if it's clear or red, time for a new batt'ry!

Meade

duh_ster · February 2002

...the car is about 5 months old!! if it's the battery, then i must be running on a 9 V...:P
'duh'

maltb · February 2002

go to the 6 forum on here for more info, but here's a tidbit.

engines:
2.3 mazda designed, ford built
3.0 ford duratech with VVT

Trans:
Mazda 5spd M/T
Jatco 5spd A/T

Assembly:
AAI plant in flat rock, MI Current home to the 626/Cougar

protege_fan · February 2002

No idea man. Mine has started fine for me, so you're right, I don't think it's the weather either. I'd definitely call Northhill and ask them about it.

Mazda Protegé

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